by dan pine
staff writer
After graduating from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in English and spending seven years as executive director of the Hillel there, Adam Weisberg is finally –– finally –– set to say goodbye to his beloved campus.
Next stop, Camp Tawonga, where he assumes the post of executive director early next year, replacing interim director Ann Gonski. Until then, he will continue serving at Hillel.
Weisberg is no stranger to the venerable Jewish summer camp in the mountains near Yosemite. He worked there for seven summers in and around the time he was a Cal undergrad.
In a letter to Berkeley’s Hillel community, Weisberg wrote, “I often reflect on the values of treating each individual as if he or she is created in God’s image, of community and of striving for excellence in both our product and our process. These are values I learned at Camp Tawonga when I was a college student and have tried to bring to Hillel as a professional.”
Leaving Hillel isn’t easy for the San Francisco native. Prior to his tenure at Cal, he worked for Hillel in Ohio and at the organization’s Washington, D.C.-based International Center. His Jewish professional bona fides run even deeper, having participated in Project Otzma (a college-level Israel program) and spending two years in Bulgaria volunteering for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
“I care very much about Hillel as a community and an organization,” he said. “I very much love the work I do here, and it has been very difficult to contemplate not walking in the doors every day and doing the work I have been privileged to do.”
Soon Hillel will begin forming a search committee to hire a new executive director. Students interested in serving on that committee should contact Amiee Schwartz at aschwartz@berkeleyhillel.org and request an application.
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California